Videogame sales slide again in February

NPD shows 23% drop in software sales; late Vita launch doesn’t help

By

DanGallagher

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Videogame sales fell sharply in February, worse than analysts’ had expected, and making for a third straight month of declines for a sector suffering from a lack of compelling new releases.

According to data from NPD Group late Thursday, sales of game software in the U.S. slid by 23% during the month compared to the same period last year.

That was an improvement over the stunning 38% drop in January, but still deeper than the 8% to 19% drop modeled by analysts. NPD data only includes sales made through traditional retail outlets and not those made over digital channels.

No new name for the new iPad?

(5:02)

The introduction of the "new iPad" has marketing experts scratching their heads over the lack of a specific name for Apple's much-awaited new gadget, Jessica Vascellaro reports on digits.

Game hardware sales fell by 18%. The launch of the new handheld PlayStation Vita by Sony Corp.
SNE, +1.05%
(6758) took place near the end of the month — too late to boost results much for the group. None of the top-ten game titles for the month were Vita games.

Nintendo Co.
NTDOY, +2.49%
(7974) said it sold 228,000 units of its Wii cosole and 262,000 units of its handheld 3DS console during the month.

The top selling game for the month continued to be “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” from Activision Blizzard Inc.
ATVI, -1.83%
That was followed by “Final Fantasy XIII-2” from Square Enix, “UFC Undisputed” by THQ Inc.
THQI
and “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” by Electronic Arts Inc.
EA, +1.03%

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.